Sukkot

The festival of Sukkot begins on Tishri 15, the fifth day after Yom Kippur.

Sukkot is the final Shalosh R’galim (three pilgrimage festivals) and has a dual significance historically and agriculturally. Historically, it marks the forty-year period when the children of Israel were wandering in the desert. Agriculturally, it is the harvest festival, sometimes referred to as Chag Ha-Asif, the Festival of Ingathering.

This holiday comes to us from the torah: “You shall dwell in booths seven days… that your generations may know that I made the Israelites dwell in booths… (Leviticus 23:4243.) The rational for living in booths is that we should never forget the journey that brought us to the prosperous times that we may enjoy.

Significance: Reminds us of the wandering in the desert; also a harvest festival

Observances: Building and “dwelling” in a booth; waving branches and a fruit during services